Pao
He shrugged, recalling the memory. "In my neighborhood I'd chalk it up to the kid bein' an a** or something, so I always figured he deserved it. As for hating me..." he shrugged again. "As long as they just look and hate, no problem. I think if they ever attacked me then I would've started a real fight." Though to fight with birds sounded like a cry for help. Her hug, at least, kept him grounded enough that he didn't keep going down that line of thought.

Enough that they took the picture and were already walking along, laughing with her about the picture. "Frameable, right?" he chuckled before putting his phone away. He let her once again lead him to their next spot, which to his delight was a nice, classic looking pub. They were seated in a booth by a window, and Rhys cozied up beside her. Across her was an option, but he kind of wanted to stay close so he hoped she didn't mind.

Aria
She tilted her head, listening to him as he explained the issues with the crows near him. "Well crows do tend to look mean and aggressive, so maybe it was just 'Resting Crow Face,' babe?" Her tone was joking at that, but her brows rose at the idea of trying to fight a murder of crows. "I'm glad you didn't have to do that, you might have gotten injured pretty bad with those beaks."

"Completely frameable. I like the idea of adding some of our photos to my walls." She said, smiling at the idea. When they were seated, she cuddled in right against him, not at all minding him sitting next to her... She'd been wanting to sit like this for sometime, honestly. She pulled the menu open, her head resting on his shoulders. If they hadn't had the Fish n Chips earlier, she'd go for that but... For now, she thought she'd go for some fried chicken, fries and a small glass of ale, not wanting much but curious what it was like.

Pao
"We'll just grab more than a few frames when we go shopping," he said with a chuckle, leaning slightly against her as he looked at the menu. They had quite a nice selection of burgers, and he settled on the house favorite burger, onion rings, and an iced tea.

The waiter came and went, and Rhys was able to give her his full attention while they waited for their food. Smiling, he kissed her on the cheek, taming himself because they were in a restaurant and it seemed the polite thing to do. "What else did you wanna do tonight, babe?" he asked softly, eyes on hers.

Aria
"That sounds like a good idea..." She said, softly and happily. She slid her arm around him, eyes closing while waiting for the waiter, feeling warm and comfy and not really wanting to move for the moment. This was their first real meal at a full restaurant together, and somehow it felt extra special in her mind.

Once the food was ordered, she was about to turn to face him when he kissed her cheek, and she made a soft, happy sound. His question made her tilt her head and shrug. "I was thinking after the meal, we can head back to our digs for the night... Bath, maybe, then bed." She leaned in and murmured "Lots of time to relax and make out, yeah?"

Pao
The happy sound got an amused chuckle out of him, and he kissed her cheek again after she laid out a plan he had no problems going along with whatsoever. Then again, any plan she laid out he would very likely go along with, especially if it involved making out.

"A solid plan," he said, smirk turning suggestive, if a bit shy. Nervous, even. "Was thinking we could maybe...I dunno, try a little something more."

Aria
She mmm'd at the seocnd kiss, and was in the process of cuddling in just a little closer, when he spoke again. She looked up, to examine his expression, seeing the shy/nervousness in it. She considers his face for a long moment, and everything they'd been discussing and doing so far, and of course, his issues.

Finally she said "What did you have in mind?"

Pao
Feeling safe talking about this with her, he found, was getting easier the longer they were together, and the more they sort of talked about it, and the more that they generally did. So even if he was a bit shy he wasn't scared or as embarassed or insecure about the issue anymore. Still, at her question he sort of shrugged.

"A massage, maybe?" he recalled from one of their conversations about this, "just to see? I feel like anything more might..." and it was there that he trailed, because he knew she knew what he meant. "I could give you one first, though, since you planned basically all of today..."

Aria
She smiled a little, watching his face, and how he physically responded to her questions. Seeing he didn't get embarassed or scared, she smiled more, feeling glad to know he was getting to the point where at least they could discuss it. It was nice to know things like this weren't going to totally make him nervous, or cause him other problems.

His comment on a massage her closing her eyes for a moment, considering, then she nodded. "We can do that, babe. I don't mind... And yes, one would be lovely, though let's keep them equal, yeah?" She wasn't saying that because she felt it would truly be unfair... She just knew too much for her would be pushing into please stop that feels too good.

Pao
He nodded, smile back to being a bit more confident as he leaned in for a kiss. "Thanks, love," he whispered, and he leaned back right in time for their server to show up with their food. The girl was sort of making an "aww, don't make me sick" look on her face, but he chalked it up to a busy day and possibly recent love life issues.

Not his job to care, so he ignored it and smiled politely, though Zephira was laughing at the thoughts very freely running through his mind about this server.

Once she was gone he stared down at his burger, grinning from ear to ear.

Aria
Seren smiled and kissed him back, before murmuring "You're welcome, Rhys." She glanced at the server, and arched a brow at the girl, her own expression going 'Don't hate cause you're jealous,' before focusing on the food she had brought them. She picked up the ale, and took a sniff, curious as to what one smelled like, then slowly sipped from it. It was not what she'd expected, but she didn't hate it.

The fried chicken, on the other hand, smelled like greasy heaven from above, and she set the ale down to pick up the meat. She bit carefully into the tender meat and breading, which made that perfect crackling sound properly breaded and crispy fried chicken makes. She mmm'd! in pleasure, and closed her eyes, before going in for another bite.

Pao
Rhys eyed her curiously as she picked up her drink, not judging or anything but curious, mostly about how well she could hold her alcohol. He didn't ask, though, just smiled when she sipped and didn't react before digging into his burger. Much like Seren, he very much enjoyed that first bite, and as soon as he swallowed it he went in for more. It was juicy, cheesy, burger heaven, made even more blissful with the occasional bite of their surprisingly crispy fries.

"I," he murmured when he finally set it down to take a sip of his tea, "am really impressed by this. And it's hard to impress me when it comes to burgers." The brunette sipped and glanced over at her, asking, "How's your food, babe?"

Aria
That small ale wouldn't be enough to do much of anything, especially with the greasy fried goodness she was consuming like it was mana from heaven. She paused for a moment to try a bite of the mashed potatoes that came with it. She shrugged, they were ok mashed taters, but not the best she'd ever had. She was about to go in hard on her chicken again when he spoke.

She set her breast down, wiped her fingers on a napkin, then took another sip of her ale while tilting her head, and she teased him "Ohhhhhhh? Better then the one I made you?" She was clearly kidding, because while she knew she did an alright burger, she wasn't a pro at it, and it wasn't her specialty. "I'm glad, babe... And if you like Fried Chicken, you should try a taste... This is some amazing ******** fried chicken."

Pao
He laughed at her joke, though his answer was a dead serious, "Kinda, yeah," and then he laughed a bit more before sipping his tea. "But yours impressed me too, so I mean." He set his glass down and considered her suggestion for a second, then shook his head.

"I trust you, so I think I'm good with my burger. Be a shame if I didn't finish it." Which was him kidding because he was totally gonna annihilate it. His pace was slower now because he wasn't as hungry as when he started, but the burger was well on its way to being finished already.

Aria
She laughed as well, then smiled brightly about hers impressing him. When it came to his favorite things, knowing she did a good job made her feel very good. She leaned up for a moment, to kiss him, then settled back and had some more of her ale. She decided it was all right, but not her thing. The things that Joy had made were way more to her taste. Still, she might try other beers and ales in the future, but not with the intent to get drunk.

"You not finish a meal?" She suddenly looked up at him, in disbelief. "I think I might die of shock, Rhys. I've never seen you push a plate away unfinished." She laughed, and added "Yoooooour loss." Before grabbing the chicken up and going back to eating it, with some serious gusto. It took her less time then usual to finish the fried chicken, and soon the plate was littered with the bones, while she worked her way through the mash, sipping ale between bites.

Pao
He about choked on his burger when she picked up on his joke, and it took sipping down more of his tea to actually not choke while he took a second to laugh alongside her. "Hey, your man likes his food, alright?" was his unneeded defense before going back to his burger, finishing just before she did. He picked at his fries and sipped at his tea, a content sigh passing his lips between a bite.

"Good way to end our night out," he said, turning to her, "when we get back, we get to start on our night in. Bath first?"

Aria
She looked surprised at the fact the he almost choked, and was ready to do the heimlich, but when he calmed down, she did too. Her expression at his words was one of amusement. "I think I've noticed, oh 'my man,' how much you like your food. And I'm glad. One of us with a small appetite is enough."

She managed to finish the mash, and downed the rest of her ale, before cuddling against him. She'd eaten the whole meal again, and it made her feel so good to know she could. His question, however, had her grinning up at him. "Of course we do. And... yeah that sounds good. Bath to relax the muscles a little before the massages, then massages to finish the job... Yes. Let's get the bill dealt with and get out of here."

Pao
When she started to cuddle he looked over her plate, once again proud and happy to see her finish all of it again. Including a decent-sized drink, too, so he leaned into her a bit as he waved their server down to ask for the check.

"Bath, massage...with or without oil?"

The server came and dropped their check off with more of a rehearsed smile than earlier, and he quickly gave it back to her with his debit card in the little tray before going back to their conversation. "I bet we could find a place that sells some kinda massage oil around here..."

Aria
"Oil certainly helps prevent skin burns..." She said calmly. "I vote oil." She leaned up and murmured "Check to see if they added a service charge when you get the copy to sign. If so, don't add a tip." She'd looked up 'Tipping Practices' when she was getting the other information, and had meant to mention it. "I hope so, though I'd rather it not be a skeevy adult things shop, given the time. Maybe we'll be able to find a pharmacy or something."

She watched the server, an amused look on her face. She knew being serving staff was hard, she'd done it plenty, but that kind of forced, rehearsed smile was a terrible way to get extra tips or anything.

Pao
"Will do," he whispered back, paying close attention to the check when it got back to him. Sure enough a service charge was already included so he just signed and dropped the pen to keep the receipt in place before scooting out of the booth. Once he was out he held out his hand for her in case she needed the extra help (or just wanted to hold his hand again, both were good reasons to him).

"Pharmacy sounds safer to me, too. And also easier to find. Hopefully we'll pass one on the way."

Aria
She followed him out of the booth, and rather then taking his hand, she slipped her arm around him, because the drinking had begun, and whistles at random women in the pub, and she thought, on the street, had too. She wanted to it be very obvious who she was here with, in the hopes of discouraging anything of that nature.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Shall we, babe?" She smiled up at him, lovingly.

Pao
The whistles and cat-calls had him possessively wrap his arm around her as they walked out, and he smiled back at her, adding a nod. "Yeah, let's get outta here," he said, and they walked out without any kind of issues despite the whistles not at all calming down. In a sense he did hope she realized that she was attractive to other people, too, but the more possessive side of him wished those guys would go suck on a railroad spike, too. There must've been plenty in London, given the Underground.

Once outside they were hit with the very chill wind, which had him pull her in just that much closer as they went. "How far's the apartment from here again?"

Aria
She ignored the cat calls and the whistles for the most part, but he could probably tell it made her very uncomfortable, as she tucked herself in just a little closer, her expression slightly tight. It did not make her feel attractive, it made her feel slightly threatened, and like a piece of meat on display. If he'd said anything, she'd have agreed about the sucking on the railroad Spike.

His question had her digging out the map with directions she'd printed, and she turned a little so the wind wouldn't tug the pages out of her hand. "Mmm two miles from here it looks like." She said, showing him the map under a lamppost.

Pao
Rhys looked over the map as best he could under the lamppost, using his free hand to help hold it so they could see it clearly, and he mapped out their path as quickly as he could. "Two miles," he repeated, leaning in to give her another quick kiss on the temple. "I'll lead, you keep an eye out for a pharmacy?"

Aria
She smiled and nodded at him. "Alright. Let's get going before the wind gets any worse." She snuggled up against him just a bit more, and when they headed off, she kept her eyes peeled, looking for a pharmacy or similar. Despite how cold it was and how far they're gone that day, she was still energetic and in a good mood.

Being on vacation with someone was amazing. Being in vacation with someone she loved and who loved her was so much better then amazing.

They were about three quarters of the way home when she looked up and saw a store sign that said 'Boots' on it, with the pharmacy cross logo. She pointed at it, and said "Found one, babe."

Pao
He was cold but only marginally tired, and her company was probably the biggest thing keeping him still in a very chipper mood. So they walked, snuggled up to defend themselves from the wind and the cold, until she pointed out a pharmacy and he looked up, a questioning brow immediately going up.

"Sounds like a shoe store," he commented as he turned his focus to the pharmacy cross logo right nearby. "But it's...not. The ******** ******** clue, but it's what we need, weird a** as that is. Let's get the stuff and get back to the apartment where we can warm up properly." She turned towards the doors of the pharmacy, and in, glad that it was a heated building. She looked around, trying to work out the organization, then finally headed for the section that seemed most logical to her.

She blushed to discover that it was the right one, but the oils were right next to supplies for more... Intimate needs, too.

Pao
Rhys followed her in, still confused about the name. He was so tempted to ask, but given that they were just trying to grab something real quick he didn't have a lot of time to be more tourist-y than he already was. Once inside he followed her to the right aisle as well, and while she blushed he couldn't help but smirk at what else was on display.

"Marketing strategies," he said with a little sigh. Even just looking at the other stuff had a minor effect on him, which...was annoying, but he left it alone. Stepping beside her, he browsed a bit before grabbing the smallest bottle available. "Lavender scented...work for you?"

Aria
She controlled the urge to lightly elbow him when she saw his smirk... Barely. Instead, she just looked in a different direction, feeling awkward as ********, but also kind of wishing they had a use for them.

"Still a little embarrassing when I want expecting it." She said softly in response to the marketing comment, her eyes moving to look at anything but the shelf in question. When he spoke again, she glanced at the bottle and nodded. "Nice, fresh and clean scent. Lavender is perfect in my eyes." She headed out of the aisle and towards the registers.

Pao
He heard her, but he had nothing to add to it.

So he just nodded and held onto the bottle when she said it was perfect, but unlike her he lingered in the aisle for a second and looked at the rest of the display. Like her, he also wished they had a use for it, but he still left with just the bottle. Someday, hopefully soon, he thought to himself as he joined her at the register, all smiles as the cashier did their thing.

Aria
She glanced back, surprised when she realized he'd lingered, but an understanding smile brushed across her lips for a second. When he caught up to her, though, she simply gave him a warm smile of love. Once they'd paid, she snuggled back up to him, and headed out. It didn't take long for them to get back to the apartment, and inside. She grinned, pleased, and soon had her outer layers and shoes off, glad the apartment's thermostat was the kind with a clock/timer, instead of the old ones that a person had to turn in and off by hand.

She headed into the bathroom and began to get the water running in the tub, setting the stopper once it was nice and warm, and then began to strip down the rest of her clothing.